OPINION -- Every Sunday before Thanksgiving Day, the Catholic bishops collect money at Mass for their Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).

Curiously, the CCHD prohibits giving money to organizations that actually feed, clothe or house needy persons. The funds must go to organizations that push social or structural change. These groups generally follow an organizational philosophy established by the Industrial Area Foundation (IAF).

The IAF embodies the beliefs and practices developed by its founder, Saul Alinsky. In the course of time, he trained many organizers who have gone on to successful careers in politics and social change. Perhaps the most famous of his proteges is the pro-abortion, feminist, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Social agitation, confrontation and personal attacks characterize Alinsky-style political organizing. It betrays a strong Marxist influence, an anti-Christian philosophy that divides persons into the haves and have-nots. It propounds an ideology of class struggle that dehumanizes its opponents. He wrote in one of his books that, Ridicule is mans most potent weapon. The Democrats made that idea famous as, the politics of personal destruction.

Alinsky even dedicated his book, Rules for Radicals, to Lucifer. Lucifer led the ultimate rebellion. He too rejected Gods moral law, as Alinsky rejected the authority of the Catholic Church and the morality that it teaches. I detest and fear dogma, he once wrote.

For thirty years, the bishops have been paying lip-service to the right to life, while putting Catholic money into Alinsky-style organizations like the IAF. They gave IAF a million dollars. They gave a million to ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) where Hillary Clinton learned her trade.

Joseph Cardinal Bernardin gave a million to the Chicago Metropolitan Sponsors (CMS) (while shutting down parochial schools) so that it could hire IAF to organize United Power for Action and Justice (UPAJ).

When the Cardinal was criticized for giving so much Catholic money to this group, he answered that the money did not really belonging to the Church. Someone gave it to him to fund CMS. No one in authority has yet pointed out that donating money in such a manner constitutes the very essence of money-laundering.

Not coincidencidentally, the traditional front groups of the Democrat Party, the labor unions, energetically sponsored the CMS. These included the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Illinois Education Association (IEA).

AFSCME is one of the organizers of a march on Washington being planned for spring 2004 in defense of abortion rights. Other organizers are NARAL, NOW, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The IEA is affiliated with the National Education Association, a reliable organ of the Democrat Party and an aggressive proponent of abortion, feminism, homosexuality and other evils long denounced by Catholic tradition.

In California, Catholic Charities and CCHD-funded IAF oranizations stole the election of Republican Congressman Robert Dornan, by means of documented immigration and election fraud. Catholic money helped steal an election away from a devout Catholic and patriotic man, with a perfect voting record on the right to life, on behalf of a woman with an anti-life and anti-family Democrat agenda, Loretta Sanchez.

The Illinois Leader, an internet newspaper (www.illinoisleader.com), found that 75% of the Catholic priests who vote in the Chicago Archdiocese are registered as Democrats. Thus, they carry water for the party of social change, the party of socio-sexual revolution, of abortionists, homosexuals, pornographers, adulterers, fornicators and perjurers.

Many of the Chicago area priests also endorse another Alinsky-inspired organization, Call to Action (CTA). It takes the Democrat agenda of moral rebellion into the very heart of the Catholic Church. CTA has complete freedom to organize and promote its agenda of dissent, which seeks to destroy the papacy and the Church hierarchy, to win acceptance for divorce, abortion, contraception, homosexuality, priestesses, liturgical abuses, a married clergy, and the abolition of property rights.

Catholic bishops gave millions of dollars to organizations that oppose everything Catholic, to ACORN, to IAF, to CMF but not a cent to struggling pro-life operations like Joe Schiedlers Pro-life Action League or Conrad Wojnars Womens Center. Both of these devout Catholic men endured great legal and financial difficulties when NOW sued them in federal court for racketeering.

The bishops give no real support to the cause of life and the family because that would undermine Democrat power. Serious Catholics must affirm their faith by rejecting the financial trick that the bishops turn every Thanksgiving into a treat for the culture of death.

George Kocan is a Republican Committeeman in Warrenville, Illinois, and a long-time activist in Catholic causes.

This is an abomination. All dioceses need to be audited. What would that come under, Vatican-wise--Office of Propagation of the Faith? And, by God, NOT conducted by anyone associated with the AMERICAN Council of Bishops.

The Illinois Leader, an internet newspaper (www.illinoisleader.com), found that 75% of the Catholic priests who vote in the Chicago Archdiocese are registered as Democrats.

This is the legacy of Cardinal Bernardin. He was a powerful and influential individual, both politically and spiritually. James Hitchcock wrote in an article published shortly after the Cardinals death that: He [Bernardin] consistently used his influence to promote liberal causes, even attacks on Church teachings and traditions. Hitchcock went on to say: ...he consistently used his power to build a network of allies within both the hierarchy and the bureaucracy, a network which in effect has controlled the direction of the American Church. The Bernardin Legacy

The most visible dissenting group which is a movement of laity and religious seeking to reform the "sinful structure" of the "patriarchal" Church. One could call them the "mother of all dissenting groups" - feminist pun intended. CTA is infamous since its 1994 conference coverage on the CBS news program 60 Minutes. CTA promotes dissent against Church teachings on a broad front, including women's ordination, homosexuality, creation spirituality, married priesthood, and liturgical reforms, while incorporating new age and Wiccan spirituality. Bishop Bruskewitz excommunicated those that belong to this group in his Diocese. Many members belong to local groups called "small faith communities." Renew 2000 also promotes small faith communities. Membership draws heavily from former clergy, feminist nuns, and homosexuals. Members staff COR. CTA serves on the national task force for the We Are Church referendum. Get a more complete understanding of their position from their own information. For a list of their speakers at the 2004 conference, click here.

Here's an opportunity to counter these efforts. Follow the link to put non-partisan presidential candidate voter guides into the hands of church-goers in battleground states.

Grassfire is distributing packets of 100 booklets to churches in 10 battleground states. The states we have identified are: Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada, West Virginia, Michigan, New Mexico

Now as a good freeper activist, you should write to your pastor, bishop and to a letter to the editor in both the secular and Catholic Newspapers and tell them to end this garbage campaign. Let everyone know what's going on, you can print a flyer and put on cars parked in the lots of catholic churches in your area.

Diocesan directors for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Relief Services met in Washington, DC, Feb. 7-8 as part of the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering.

Neighboring New Jersey dioceses received national recognition: Peter OConnor from the Camden Diocese received a CCHD award for his promotion of low-income housing, while a parish delegation from the Archdiocese of Newark was cited by CRS for its work in combating HIV/AIDS.

There may be no Metuchen awards in the offing, but theres also no shortage of potential accomplishments emerging from the local CCHD and CRS groups. Heres a quick overview:

Catholic Campaign for Human Development

Preparations continue for the first Metuchen CCHD community-organizing project in close to 20 years. The national neighborhood organizing group ACORN is planning to land soon in Perth Amboy, Carteret and Woodbridge, with an aim at improving low-income housing. Lay leaders from parishes in the three cities are among those helping ACORN strategize. ACORN was selected for a $25,000 local grant in December.

CCHD is the official anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic community, and both local and national funds are available in the areas of community organizing and economic development. To learn more about CCHD, go to www.usccb.org/cchd. The CCHD portion of monies taken up in the recent "winter collection" are divided, with 25 percent available for local grants, and 75 percent going into the national fund.

The national CCHD office is promoting a novel event  a cross-country bike tour  to raise awareness about poverty in the United States. Titled Brake the Cycle, the tour leaves San Francisco June 1, with an anticipated arrival Aug. 1 in Washington, DC. The tour will visit more than 30 dioceses, and although the riders come no closer to Metuchen than the Archdiocese of Baltimore, there are plans for a special Northeast link to the tour. Interested riders, or those who would like to know more about the project, can click on www.brakethecycle.org.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that ours isn't bad. Nonetheless, I don't think the agencies funded by CHD are the best use of our money, and I will make a point of donating to the parish building fund instead!

20
posted on 10/13/2004 11:36:57 AM PDT
by Tax-chick
(If you stand very still, they may think you're a tree.)

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